Article No. 10, 1991<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our sages said about the verse, \u201cThe Lord stood over him\u201d (presented in The View of Elders<\/em>, from the authors of the Tosfot, VaYetze<\/em>), \u201cWe did not find this in the rest of the patriarchs. Rabbi Simon said, \u2018The king does not stand on his field, neither when it is plowed, nor when it is sowed, but when the crop is ripe.\u2019 This is how Abraham plowed it, as it is said, \u2018Arise, walk through the land.\u2019 Isaac sowed it, as it is said, \u2018And Isaac sowed.\u2019 Jacob came and he is the ripening of the crop, as it is said, \u2018The holiness of Israel is for the Lord, its first fruits,\u2019 he stood over it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should understand what this comes to teach us in the work: What is \u201ca field,\u201d what is \u201cWhen the crop is ripe,\u201d and what is the allegory of the King who stands over his field? It is known that our work is essentially only on the kingdom of heaven, which is called \u201cfaith.\u201d Our sages said about it, \u201cHabakkuk came and founded them on one: \u2018A righteous lives by his faith.\u2019\u201d Faith means the necessity to believe in the Creator, that He leads the world in guidance of good and doing good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And even though one still does not have this feeling, he should still believe and say that the fact that he is not seeing how the good is revealed in the world, he should still believe above reason that he does not see the good revealed before his eyes, since as long as he is not out of the dominion of self-love, he cannot see. This is because there was a Tzimtzum<\/em> [restriction] on the vessels of reception so that the light cannot shine there due to disparity of form, as it is written in the Sulam<\/em> [Ladder commentary on The Zohar<\/em>] (\u201cIntroduction of the Book of Zohar,\u201d Item 138).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this reason, one cannot see the truth. Instead, he must believe that this is so. And in the work of the general public, the states of guidance of reward and punishment are not so apparent. But in individual work, when a person wishes to try to achieve the degree where all his actions are for the sake of the Creator, when he begins to strain to reach the degree of a giver, his entire basis should be built on the greatness of the Creator. It is said about it in The<\/em> Zohar<\/em>, \u201cOne should fear Him because He is great and ruling,\u201d and then begins the work primarily on this faith\u2014that the Creator leads the world as The Good Who Does Good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then states of ascents and descents come to him. In other words, at times, he has reward and he can believe in the Creator, that He is good and does good, and one can love the Creator because of His greatness. This comes to a person through great efforts in faith in reward and punishment. This means that if one works with faith above reason, he is rewarded, and his reward is that he comes to feel the Creator\u2019s love for him. And the punishment is that if he wants to go specifically within reason, he thus becomes remote from the love of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worse yet, sometimes he becomes the opposite, a hater of the Creator, since he has many complaints against the Creator because he has already prayed to the Creator many times and he sees that the Creator does not hear the prayer. And from that, a person comes to a state of ascents and descents. However, if one overcomes, goes above reason, and says \u201cThey have eyes but they will not see,\u201d he is temporarily rewarded and feels close to the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written about it in the \u201cIntroduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot\u201d (Item 132), \u201cWe must know that the above attribute of \u2018medium\u2019 applies even when one is under Providence of concealment of the face. By great exertion in faith in reward and punishment, a light of great confidence in the Creator appears to them. For a time, they are granted a degree of disclosure of His face in the measure of the medium. But the drawback is that they cannot permanently remain in their degrees, since standing permanently in a degree is possible only through repentance from fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that the order of our work comprises three periods before we reach the exit from the work, which is the discernment of Adam [human being]. Our sages said about it (Nidah<\/em> 31), \u201cThere are three partners in a person\u2014the Creator, his father, and his mother. His father gives the white; his mother gives the red; and the Creator places a spirit and a soul [Ruach<\/em> and Neshama<\/em>, respectively] within him.\u201d This is explained in the work, as we learn that there are three lines\u2014Hesed<\/em> [mercy\/grace], Din<\/em> [judgment], and Rachamim<\/em> [pity\/mercy].<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is as we said in previous essays, that for a person to be able to walk, one needs two legs, right and left. These are like the two verses that refute one another until the third verse comes and sentences between them. Thus, the two lines have given birth to the decisive line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that, we can interpret the meaning of \u201cplowing,\u201d \u201csowing,\u201d and the \u201cripened crop\u201d in the work. The right line is the plowing. This is the order of man\u2019s work of wanting to be admitted into the work of bestowal. Man is created to care only for himself. And since there was a correction over the will to receive for himself, to avoid the matter of shame due to the disparity of form from the Creator\u2014since what we see of Him is only how He bestows upon the creatures and there is no self-reception in Him whatsoever\u2014hence, a Tzimtzum<\/em> [restriction] and concealment were made over the will to receive for oneself so the creatures cannot receive the delight and pleasure that He wishes to impart upon the creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was in order to enable man to correct the vessels of reception to work only in order to bestow. In other words, man must invert the will to receive in him and receive a desire to bestow, instead. That is, what was previously of highest importance to him\u2014the will to receive\u2014will now be of inferior importance. He will not wish to use it, but on the contrary, the will to bestow, which was of inferior importance for him and which he did not want to use, will now be of high regard. This means that now this will to bestow is important for him and he wants to use only the desire to bestow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is called \u201cplowing,\u201d when the soil is overturned so that what was above becomes below, and what was below becomes above. This is called \u201cright line,\u201d Abraham, Hesed<\/em>. In other words, now he wishes to engage only in Hesed<\/em>, called \u201cthe desire to bestow,\u201d and the right line is called \u201cwholeness.\u201d Thus, although one sees that he still cannot perform Hesed<\/em>, he should imagine that he has already been rewarded with bestowal, called Hesed<\/em>, and thank the Creator for rewarding him with doing things in order to bestow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All this is only above reason. And although if he considers the situation he is in, he will see otherwise, it is a matter of above reason. This means that he must imagine that he has already been rewarded with a desire to bestow, as though he has already been rewarded with plowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, one should lower himself and say, \u201cI am content and thankful for whatever thought and desire to do something in spirituality the Creator gives me, for rewarding me with doing a little service to the Creator, meaning that I can do something for the Creator.\u201d And he is happy with that because he sees that the Creator did not give the rest of the people the chance to serve Him. This is why he is happy with that. This is regarded as \u201cwholeness,\u201d since now he believes above reason that the Creator leads the world in a manner of good and doing good, and thus he can now show love for the Creator and always be happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, at the same time one needs to walk with the other leg, the left, meaning to criticize his actions. He should have a desire to see the truth, how much effort he can give in order to bestow, and how much is the importance of spirituality. Does he really understand that it is better to work only for the Creator and not for himself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that state, he sees very differently: All his actions while he was walking on the right line, when he thought that he was truly a whole man, now that he has shifted to the left line he sees that he has nothing that is truly for the sake of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is called \u201csowing.\u201d For example, when taking good wheat seeds and sowing them in the field, if there is a person who does not know about field work, he would look at the person who took the seeds and sowed them in the ground as though he were insane. Similarly, here, when one takes good states that contain wholeness, for which he has already thanked the Creator, now he cancels them. It is like that man who took good wheat seeds and sowed them in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in truth, one cannot walk on one leg. Those two legs are considered two verses that refute one another. This is why Isaac is regarded as sowing his field, which is left. Our sages said about it, \u201cOne should always repel with the left and attract with the right\u201d (Sotah<\/em> 47). We should interpret that when one feels that he is close to the Creator, it is called, \u201cattracting with the right.\u201d \u201cRepelling with the left\u201d means that when he criticizes, he sees that he is being repelled from the work of bestowal. That is, our sages come to tell us that man needs two things, right and left, since we cannot walk on a single leg. This is considered \u201cIsaac,\u201d which is called \u201csowing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abraham, who is called \u201cright,\u201d meaning Hesed<\/em>, wholeness, is called \u201cwhiteness,\u201d as was said above that there the three partners are his father, his mother, and the Creator. His father is the first discernment\u2014the first line, which is Hesed<\/em>\u2014showing wholeness. Wholeness is called \u201cwhite,\u201d as it is written, \u201cThough your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.\u201d This is called \u201cThe right attracts,\u201d when he feels that he is being brought closer to the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd his mother sows the red.\u201d Red points to a deficiency, Nukva<\/em> [Aramaic: female], where he sees that he is being completely repelled from the work of bestowal. Thus, he is in a state of ascents and descents. This is regarded as having only partial faith, as he says (\u201cIntroduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,\u201d Item 14) that it is because he has many descents, and during the descent he is without faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, one must not spend much time on the left line, called \u201cthe second line,\u201d since at that time one is in a state of separation. Thus, for the most part, one\u2019s work should be in a state of wholeness. This is called \u201cthe renewal of the moon.\u201d It means that one must constantly renew the white in him, the right line, which is whiteness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But during the descent, faith departs from him and he sometimes remains unconscious, like a person who falls under a truck and is hurt, though he does not know that he has fallen. The lesson is that the person lies under his load, as it is written, \u201cIf you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden\u201d because he cannot go above reason, as the work of going above reason is an intolerable load and burden to him. Hence, if he gets distracted from it, he immediately falls under the truck. This is called \u201cbeing injured in a road accident.\u201d Hence, one must always be careful and keep to the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that the correction of a person walking on the left line is because he does not wait to get a decline and fall, and then he will wait until an awakening from above comes to him. Instead, he draws upon him the left, and then he sees that he is in a state of descent, meaning that he does not have a single spark of desire to work in order to bestow and not for his own benefit. And then he can pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is as Baal HaSulam said about what our sages said of David, who said, \u201cI awaken the dawn, and the dawn does not awaken me.\u201d That is, King David did not wait for the dawn, which is called \u201cblack,\u201d which is darkness, meaning that the darkness awakens him. Instead, he awakens the darkness. He prays to the Creator to illuminate His face for him and thus he gains time from having the preparation for the darkness, and then it is easier to correct it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the two above-mentioned lines\u2014right and left\u2014beget a third line, the middle line. It is as our sages said, \u201cAnd the Creator places the spirit and soul within him.\u201d Thus, after a person has completed the work in two lines, all the evil is revealed in him. This came to him because those two lines are as two verses that refute one another. And one sees that there is no end to the ups and downs, and then he makes an honest prayer for the Creator to help him receive the desire to bestow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Creator helps him, he is rewarded with complete, permanent faith, since he already has the vessels of bestowal. Before one obtains the vessels of bestowal, it is impossible for him to have permanent faith, since during the descent he loses his faith and cannot permanently believe in the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is explained (\u201cIntroduction of The Book of Zohar,\u201d Item 138), \u201cSince we use the vessels of reception contrary to how they were created, we necessarily feel the acts of Providence as evil, against us. Hence, when a person feels bad, he is accordingly heretical against His Providence, and the Operator is hidden from him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, we see that before one is rewarded with vessels of bestowal, he cannot have permanent faith. However, by being rewarded with the desire to bestow\u2014which extends from the work in the two lines, by which all the evil appears completely\u2014one comes to a resolution that only the Creator can help him. Then he toils in this work and does not escape the campaign, and he is rewarded with the middle line, called \u201cthe Creator gives the spirit and the soul.\u201d This is called \u201cdisclosure of the face.\u201d It is regarded as what is written, \u201cHow is there repentance, when He who knows the mysteries will testify that he will not turn back to folly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With this we can interpret what we asked, \u201cWhat does it mean in the work that it is written, \u2018Jacob came and he is the ripening of the crop,\u2019 as it was said, \u2018The holiness of Israel is for the Lord, its first fruits,\u2019 he stood over it.\u201d Our sages gave an allegory about that, \u201cThe King does not stand on his field, unless when the crop is ripe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should interpret that the king standing on his field refers to a man. Man extends from Malchut<\/em>, and Malchut<\/em> is called \u201ca field.\u201d And man should come to a state of \u201cA field which the Lord has blessed.\u201d This is done by labor in the above-mentioned two lines\u2014the plowing of Abraham and the sowing of Isaac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Afterward comes the discernment of \u201cWhen the crop is ripe,\u201d when you can already see the reward from the work\u2014the crop\u2014which is Jacob. It is as we said above\u2014after he has been rewarded with help from the Creator, when the Creator has given him the soul, called \u201cdisclosure of the face,\u201d it is considered that the Creator stands over him permanently, meaning that then he is rewarded with permanent faith. This is the meaning of what is written, \u201cAnd the Lord stood over him.\u201d In other words, once a person has reached the degree of the middle line, which is considered Jacob, the Creator is over him, as mentioned in the allegory above, where the King stands on his field when the crop is ripe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written (\u201cIntroduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,\u201d Item 54), \u201cWhen the Creator sees that one has completed one\u2019s measure of exertion and finished everything he had to do in strengthening his choice in faith in the Creator, the Creator helps him. Then, one attains open Providence, meaning the revelation of the face. Then, he is rewarded with complete repentance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He says (\u201cIntroduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,\u201d Item 56), \u201cIn truth, one is not absolutely certain that he will not sin again before he is rewarded with the above attainment of reward and punishment, meaning the revelation of the face. And this revelation of the face, from the perspective of the Creator\u2019s salvation, is called \u2018testimony,\u2019 …it guarantees that he will not sin again.\u201d This means that at that time he is rewarded with permanent faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now we can interpret what is written, \u201cThe Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock.\u201d \u201cMy soul shall be glorified in the Lord.\u201d We should understand the meaning of \u201cThe Lord lives,\u201d in regard to the Creator. What kind of praise of the Creator is it? In the work, we should interpret \u201cLives.\u201d Who is He who is called \u201cThe Lord lives\u201d? It is one who believes in the Creator, that He watches over the world benevolently. This person is called \u201cLives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBlessed by my Rock\u201d is one who receives from the Creator the shape of this faith, where the Creator is His desire to do good to His creations. That man blesses the Creator for giving him the faith, since alone he would not be able to take upon himself faith above reason, for this is the gift of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should also interpret, \u201cMy soul shall be glorified in the Lord.\u201d \u201cIn the Lord\u201d means in the Creator bringing him close to Him. For this, his soul is glorified, meaning that man\u2019s soul is deeply thankful to the Creator for bringing him closer. This is called \u201cThe Creator gives the spirit and the soul.\u201d With his own strength, a person would not be able to achieve this. For this, he praises the Creator\u2014that now that he has faith. He blesses the Creator only for what the Creator gave him. Also, the Creator is called \u201cthe middle line,\u201d as was said above, that only by working in the two previous lines, one is later rewarded with the Creator giving the spirit and the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, only the Creator can help one exit the dominion of the vessels of reception. Therefore, during the descent one must not argue with his will to receive and plead that it is better for him if the will to receive left the premises and made room for the desire to bestow, and he wants to make it understand so it will surrender before him. One should know that the body will never agree to this; it is a waste of words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, he should ask the Creator, for only He has the strength to annul it, and none other. In other words, the body will never agree to this; hence, it is pointless to argue with the body. But when he wishes to do something for the sake of the Creator, he should ask the Creator to give him the strength to overcome the will to receive for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the above said, we should interpret what they said (Avot<\/em>, Chapter 1:5), \u201cDo not extend in conversation with the woman.\u201d This was said about his woman. It is all the more so about his friend\u2019s woman. Although the literal meaning is the main one, in the work, we can interpret that the woman and the man are in one body. Man\u2019s woman is called \u201cthe will to receive,\u201d which is called \u201ca female,\u201d and which always wants only to receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, sometimes, when one wishes to do something in order to bestow, which is called \u201cmale,\u201d a man, and the will to receive resists, and a man wishes to extend in discussion with his will to receive to make it understand that it is better for it to let him work in order to bestow, our sages said that it is a waste of words. They said, \u201cThis is said about his own woman,\u201d meaning the will to receive in himself. \u201cIt is all the more so in his friend\u2019s woman,\u201d meaning to argue with the friends\u2019 will to receive\u2014that he will argue with them and make them see that it is better to do everything in order to bestow\u2014since only the Creator can help them emerge from the domination of the will to receive for oneself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hence, such people\u2014who wish to walk on the path of reaching a state where all their actions are for the sake of the Creator\u2014must not reproach their friends about why they do not engage in the work of bestowal. This is because if he wants to correct a friend\u2019s will to receive, it is as though that man has power. But in truth, what a person does in order to bestow is only by the power of the Creator. This is why it is forbidden to rebuke one\u2019s friend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article No. 10, 1991 Our sages said about the verse, \u201cThe Lord stood over him\u201d (presented in The View of Elders, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6243,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-11094","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n